


The Doctor's Hairy Heart

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, fairy tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 21:06:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12284406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: A retelling of Beedle the Bard's classic tale 'The Wizard's Hairy Heart.'No disrespect is meant either to the immortal bard or to JK Rowling. Happy ending, no worries there.





	The Doctor's Hairy Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I swear to everything that is good that I have no earthly idea how I missed re-uploading these fics.

There once lived a young man named Theta who was born of a good family. There was very little that stood between him and a bright and promising future. He was a handsome boy who grew into a handsome young man and was well liked by nearly everyone.

When Theta grew close to a marrying age he would observe all of his comrades falling in love and generally behaving in very silly ways as they attempted to court and win a young maiden's heart. Vowing that he would never behave in such a foolish manner he went to a well-known wizard in the area and underwent a spell that would remove his heart and keep it safe. 

He told no one that he had done this thing and merely smiled when his friends clapped him on the shoulder and told him that eventually someone would steal his heart. Without the distraction of a young woman to distract him he soon became a well-respected surgeon and increased in fame and fortune. His copious wealth and detached manner made him a coveted prize among women and many tried in vain to catch his eye.

Theta patted himself on the back for his cunning and foresight in removing such an unnecessary evil as his heart and turned aside his admirers with scarcely a sideways glance. He continued to wield his scalpel with dexterity and his skill became known from coast to coast. His ruthlessness also became known and he was respected for his craft nearly as much as he was hated for his manners and dealings. He was, in every way that counted to him, extraordinarily happy.

However one day as he was strolling down the grand hallways of the most respected medical hospital in the country, he overheard some lesser Doctors discussing him. He smirked to hear them speak ill of him, they were merely jealous of his competence after all. But then one said that he pitied the great Doctor, pitied him because with all his fame and fortune he wasn't capable of procuring a wife when any common man could do so.

Theta was overcome with such rage as was terrible to behold. When he was calm enough to think reasonably he decided that he would find a woman at once who would have fame and fortune of her own, as well as such beauty as to make any man tremble at daring to suggest that he had settled for anything less than the absolute best. He informed his many servants and lackeys that they should find as many candidates as possible and present them unto him.

Before his demands could be carried out, he came across a woman in the marketplace who exactly fitted his specifications. She was skillful in her trade, was said to have a trove of treasure of her own, and her beauty was such that men came from far and wide to tell her about it. Theta could see all of this with a shrewd eye, but felt nothing at all because his heart did not reside in his chest. 

Nevertheless he was determined that she be the one who would be his wife and set himself upon the task of impressing her with his skill, handsomeness, and fame. He daily presented her with flowers, read beautiful poems, and took her to dances, plays, and other events, but to little avail. She was not moved by his gestures and, though she treated him with the respect she treated any other, did not acquiesce to marry him.

Each day he made his suit and each day she refused him. Rose (that was the lady's name) was drawn to him, interested by his conversation, and was full of sympathy for his plight, but she informed him that she would not have a man who did not possess a heart. Determined to prove her wrong, he took her to the secret lair where he kept his heart under watch at all times of the day and night. 

His heart lay in an ornate cage gilded with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds and he stepped forward to show it to her and then fell back in horror. His heart, left to its own devices for years, was repulsive to look at, shrunken and hairy. He was certain that she would not have him then and fled from that place without looking back.

Theta wandered through hills and valleys, highways and byways, too ashamed to show his face. Eventually his footsteps led him back to the wizard who had removed his heart. He fell on his knees and begged with tears streaming down his face that the wizard replace his heart. The wizard had compassion on the Doctor and consented to the request, though he warned him that the process would be painful.

It was agony such as Theta had never experienced in his life and afterwards he was so overcome with remorse for his years of failings that he knew he could not face Rose until he had set things right. It took him a year to make right the wrongs he had done to so many and in that time news of this new Doctor reached back to Rose.

Being a woman with a mind of her own, she packed her things and set off to find him. They met in a small town where Theta was healing people in payment of a debt he owed. When he saw her coming he hid because he knew he was not worthy of love. She was not dissuaded from her task and approached him directly, looking him in the eye and professing her love for him.

Her declaration inflated the last bit of his heart and he drew her into his arms and kissed her sweetly. They were married immediately by the happy townsfolk. Together the Doctor and Rose continued traveling and bringing joy and healing to all they touched.


End file.
